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A Ghost In Paradise
Book I: Recrudescence Of An Angel Author's Note: This is the story of Vash J Chambers, a Cerberus operative who wakes up on a strange space station and realizes something is horribly wrong. He has no memory, no past, no history. Taking place a decade before Shepard's famous glory days, join Vash in his fight for his freedom and the inherent right to knowledge, but be wary- there is a danger looming on the horizon that makes the far-off threat of the Reapers seem like child's play. Enjoy, and please realize that I am a wiki noob, try to navigate it as best you can and give me some feedback, thanks (: *Disclaimer* This original piece's characters and settings were mostly devised the year following the first game's release. More than likely you'll notice subtle similarities that mostly coincide with Mass Effect 2, hell I even had Lazarus in the name of Vash's revival project, so I just wanted to clear it up that it's purely happenstance and dealt with them accordingly, and you'll soon see that the game's space station scene and mine are different in so many ways. Cheers, and thanks for your time. -Alde ___________________________________________________________________________________________ When they arrived, they darkened the sky of every world we had ever known. Purely evil beings of flesh and steel, our burning cities making them glow amber as they hover over our civilization, burning, killing. Their motives solely revolving around organic destruction; they are unstoppable. Toxic seas mire in nuclear winters while our entire culture, heritage, forthcomings and shortcomings bleed into them from crumbling ruins of extinguished life. Millions die in mere days, and for many days after, over decades. A systematic obliteration of an entire galaxy. It took but minutes to realize there was only one back door- the gateway to the holy land, Paradise. The product of thousands of generations, only there could the machinations be halted. And so the Exalted Ones and the Chosen embarked on an exodus in to the fabled holy ground, where they would end the galaxy-wide genocide with the ultimate super weapon. Knowing it was likely a one way trip, they were our heroes, the steadfast paragons of our disintegrated culture, our saviors from the unspeakable. But years pass, entire star systems go dark, and the ones that wipe their coordinate and star-chart data slowly starve to death. Many more years pass, despair, the final Dark Age of our kind before our extinction. Those of us who survive may only hope that it ends faster than it began. Still, we call out to them, we call- but we call to the sky, to the distant stars. There is only darkness and the empty cry of the night wind to answer. -An est. 89 million year old writing tablet, recovered by an asari recon team, rough translation, 1765 AD. Prologue: The Painter, The Canvas, The Muse <0900 Hours, somewhere above the garden world Callidora, 2177> It was like being born a second time, free from memories and ideas, people and places, and all the bonds that shackle us to ourselves. A kaleidoscope of the senses that overwhelms and humbles from the outset, could it be at last, I was facing the grit of reality for the first time all over again? Could it be that I was alive? * * * * I wake to the steady hum of faraway engines vibrating through many floors, and all around me there is a lullaby of beeps- frantic but soothing, the chirping sounds echo off corners I cannot see. Within a room of darkness, the solemnity is given a cozy lambency by mounted bright panels and a broad window lets starlight pour in. A heavy cloudiness painfully centers itself in my mind. Before trying to even move, I fall back to meditative thought. Staring out at the star-speckled void of outer space through the ceiling skylight, I find myself squinting in ironic realization. I can't think of anything. My name. Where I'm from. What happened before this- all bygone and cast aside. Every cherished memory I could have ever held close to me, not there anymore. It was as if I was just a living, breathing shell with no identity- no history. And who does that make me? '' I search and search, clawing my way through the corners of my mind. To the deep recesses where- I felt- many people should not even begin to see... but there is nothing. Family? Friends? I knew not of my parents or theirs. ''Would I ever? Do they want me to live like that.. and who would even- ''there were too many questions, all tempting to devour me at once. I avoid panic by retreating into another fruitless meditation.. but all that remains is an unexplainable emptiness and the painful digging sensation of a mind with nothing to yearn for. Despite the malcontented start, I begin to hone in on single thoughts, flashes of vision, vivid encounters that come and go quicker than the last. When there was nothing, all that remained was a deep ache that settles itself in my gut, but it feels like it came from truly within. ''The.. soul? ''It felt like it may be, but that's just stupid. I knew pieces of things up until a certain point, a long time ago. Something big happened, something deeply tragic, and it became this. Always the bed, waking up. Insistent shining of needles, bright lights and incessant poking. That was definitely the most annoying part… and at the end of it all, they put on the mask and it's over. Before any of that, there are only pictures. Things. Places. Everything is out of order- meaningless. As time transgressed, my flash memory sharpens, and that's when I think back to the force that had crept into my dreams. Staying as calm as possible during the momentary lapse of reason, I remember a disturbance rippling through the confines of space, wherever this place could possibly be.. it felt as if it were in danger. Something was coming. And so I try to move. Heavily reinforced restraints hold my legs and hands in two different places, effectively bolting me down to the bed- but before I even had time to get pissed off, a synthesized voice fills the room. "Aberon Cell subject one three zero six nine A dash seventy-seven 'Kal' noted as awake. Administering sedative." During this, a robotic claw came from what seems to be a central command unit that stretches far above and all around me. It produces a syringe; another bizarre and spiny arm stretches forth, its narrow and precise fingers turning my arm over. The slight sting that resulted isn't what caused my newfound incredulity. I mentally reach out for powers that for some reason I know I have, but simply trying incites the metal band running across my forehead and sends a shock through my entire body. From then on I couldn't feel anything, save for a numb, tingling sensation that numbed me long enough for the sedative to kick in. Still having control of my head and neck, I looked around the room for a moment but there was nothing of use. Fatigue suddenly wraps me in and all I can do is rest my eyes on the wide glass window at the far ahead of me. I follow a little gray speck for a moment, focusing in and out, it is unnatural, a ship maybe. The drug was quickly slowing my reaction time, but as I fought it, I find the will to speak through blinding numbness. "St-stop," is all I can manage. I relax, growing more and more comfortable. "Please calm down, Mr. Vash Chambers. You are not ready to be awake. Sleep." It came from nowhere, as if whoever it was were a part of the room. "And who are, you..." "I am Artificial Intelligence Typhus, AI of the Qunsari space station of research and development. I handle the ship’s external functions, pressure systems, weapons and diagnostics while my counterpart Mia handles critical assets. Right now it's just you and me. It's a pleasure to actually meet you, Mr. Vash Chambers." "But- ah... where is this place? Who are you people.." "You do not need to know that right now. You took extensive trauma to your head and entire body- an apparent fact that I am sure you know of. You are a valued asset to our organization, and should continue your resting cycle for the next three months, that is your safest course of recovery." I laughed for a moment, complacent inside a drug-induced haze. "What, you don't hand out brochures anymore? Get me out of this damn bed!" "Mr. Vash Chambers, that is not an outcome I can predict as cause worthy. Your brain must be left resting in order for you to stabilize. You are very important to not only us, but your entire race as a whole. You are an apex of human power." I began to dip in and out of consciousness. ''Power. I could feel an untapped reservoir of something that subtly ebbs and flows through my body, a warm but soft ripple under my skin. I open myself to it again. Massive shocks wrack my skull with a Zzzt! I yelp and wince in contemptuous rage. With all my reserved strength through over- at least- a year knocked cold, I fight to break the restraints. "Attempting to use biotic powers will activate the neural telekinetic stigma on your head. It would be most wise to refrain from doing so until your full recovery." "Get me.. out.. you-" "I am sorry. I cannot comply with your request. You should sleep, Mr. Chambers." My eyes grow heavy, but still I try to fight the drugs. "Unhh.. if I get out of here... then I'll show you. I might just swing by and flash your core." The AI laughs, a very disconcerting thing. "Very well. But if I'' get out, well. Heh, forget I said that." The room ominously seems to grow a shade darker. At last, too weary not to sever the link with reality or resist the invisible talking robot with a brain, I open up to the arms of a deep sleep. But as this happens, I could not help but feel at ease with the loss of control- as it brought me a sense of well-being and something like.. like happiness.. something which I seem to not have felt in ages. My last conscious thought fleets into the next ethereal realm. But while I slip into a hazy dreamscape, I feel a second presence in the room, yet not the nonexistent life signs of a theoretically dead AI. ...S''omeone else... Beams of light penetrate the ensuing darkness. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Want to read more? You can read the story so far at http://masseffectfanfic.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=fanfic&action=display&thread=1128 Drop a review in my review thread if you so desire! Someone else. Category:Fan Fiction Category:Aldebaran4565